Legend of the Gutsy Ninja
by Pirate Soul
Summary: Naruto nearly kills Sasuke to bring him back, upon losing control of the fox's power. He again leaves to train with Jiraiya. When he returns, he finds not only that he has changed, but that the village he once served loyally has become the villain.
1. Already Gone

_**Name: **The Legend of the Gusty Ninja (Renamed from Already Gone. Rewrite of Already Gone)_

_**Chappie Name:** Already Gone_

**_Pairings/Characters_:** _Erm... Well, no pairings, not yet... Main chara's would be Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke, Jiraiya... Kakashi, Tsunade... Sai... And of course the rest of Kishimoto's characters, whom I can choose to bring in and turn into main chara's as I please._

_**Summary:** In a mad, final attempt to bring Sasuke back to Konoha, Naruto loses control of the fox's power, and releases all nine tails. He nearly kills everyone in range. Rather upset at this, Naruto decides to leave with Jiraiya for further training, for another five years._

_Well, naturally, like people do with time, he changed. Personality, looks... The whole nine yards. The quest is, was this change for the better?_

_Not to mention, Tsunade is making rather blatantly obvious attempts to start another Shinobi war. How will our poor heroes and heroines fare?_

_This story is rather AU, I kinda stopped reading the Manga after the whole 'Uchiha Redemption' plot a few chapters ago. If you read the Manga straight from Japan, you know what I'm talking about. Though, I did take the name of Jiraiya's book from the manga, for purposes such as keeping it close to Kishimoto's original idea._

_**Disclaimer:** Naruto is not mine, unfortunately. If it were, it would be full of Yaoi and violence. XD No worries to non Yaoi fans out there, this story is currently lacking a couple.  
_

* * *

**"Naruto,** you tried to kill him! You tried to kill ALL of us! What the hell were you thinking?!" Sakura hissed angrily, fighting the overwhelming urge to scream at Naruto as she motioned violently towards the closed hospital room door. She didn't want to disturb the room's occupant, or the rest of the wing. Hell, it was bad enough they had already started to accumulate a few medic nin spectators. "You know you didn't have to go that far! I mean, look at him! We don't even know if he'll last the day with all that internal damage!"

"…" Naruto didn't respond, just crossed his arms irritably, eyes narrowed. His glare at her was icy, an expression he had never used towards her before. It's prolonged effect left Sakura feeling endangered, alarmed, and definitely made her hair stand on end. It alone made her adrenal cortex work overtime.

An awkward moment of silence passed between the two. Eyes still cold as ever, Naruto broke the moment. He reached for her chin, the bandages wrapping his hand coarse on her skin. He then turned her face towards the room in uncharacteristic forcefulness. "If I hadn't tried to kill him, it would be me in there right now, and you'd be stuck out here yelling at thin air, because he would have stayed with Orochimaru. Hell, you'd probably be in the hospital too. To top it off, he'd be disappointed he hadn't managed to kill us, and brooding over when he'd kill Itachi. Or are you really so deluded by images of grandeur, you thought your good looks would have been enough to bring him back?"

Sakura merely stared at him. She had to admit, that was some pretty sharp articulation, especially for the Uzumaki. The comments hit her hard and fast, so she responded the only way she knew how to (Before thinking through what had been said) - Defensively. Her entire body bristled in rage as she finally let out a cry of normal volume. "What the hell is that supposed to mean, Naruto?!"

Naruto merely gave her an amused smirk that said clearly, 'You're such an idiot.'. The coldness never left his eyes. The combination of the two (not to mention the bandages for the chakra burns on his face) gave his face an ugly, contorted look. Especially in comparison to the usual happy-go-lucky expression he usually wore on it. She could sense the change in his demeanor, the whole wing could - he was livid. "You know perfectly well what I mean, Sakura. Or should I refer to you as Sasuke's mistress?"

To her, the words seemed to hang in the hall air forever. Like malignant cancer or something else horribly unpleasant. She had no idea how to respond to that insult. After a minute, Sakura deemed words would not be a strong enough of a response. Inner Sakura was absolutely no help in this matter, with her usual commentary.

_'Arg! Stupid, moron, idiot! Who does he think he is?!'_

Sakura gave him a harsh back-slap to the face, one that threw him slightly off balance, forcing him to grab the white wall. The sound of her hand hitting his face still echoed down the wing loudly. She swung her hand for a second hit, Naruto easily catching it in the air, his smirk gone. Now only a red mark remained there, and a little river of blood ran down his face from his lip.

They stood like that for a few moments; Naruto's face already bruising where her blow had landed. He finally dropped her hand, tuning away from her. At first, he didn't move. "I'll be at home. Jiraiya-sensei is expecting me. If Sasuke decides to grace us with his conscious presence, you can call me."

Then he began walking down the hall, hardly making a sound. People gave him the right of way, though; they could feel the animosity bubble around him.

She wanted to stop him, god, how badly she wanted to stop him. Fight or not, he needed to be here for Sasuke… It hurt to see him walk away like that, to just turn on her with out saying anything about her slapping him. She somewhat wanted him to reprimand her, something, _anything_, just to show that he at least cared a little… She just wanted to see him turn around, face her.

But he didn't. He just kept walking.

But hell,Naruto had needed to be told off for what he did… Admittedly not hit though. He had been injured pretty severely from the Kyuubi's chakra, it had successfully burned a good portion of his body. Then again, he was out walking around, arguing even, whereas Sasuke was laid up. Possibly permanently.

"Coward!" She yelled out angrily, her voice breaking as the medic nins gathered stared at her as if she were in the wrong, on both accounts: hitting him and yelling in their hospital. Naruto did acknowledge this cry out from her though. He raised a hand as if to agree with her comment whole heartedly. Or else it meant to tell her to fuck off. Either way, it wasn't what she had wanted him to do.

--

**Minutes later,** Sakura finally moved from her spot, shakily pushing the door open to Sasuke's room. What has she done? The fight had left her stomach in painful knots. Didn't help any she had already been worried sick over Sasuke's condition. And now this…

Sakura didn't look at the man lying in the hospital bed. She avoided looking at his heavily bandaged body, at his bruised and broken face. She couldn't bear to look at Sasuke being reduced to nothing more that a sack of dilapidating meat on a stretcher. Sakura plopped into the chair beside his bed, and laid her head on its edge, thinking about how things had ended up this way.

--

**  
**_**Loud explosions** and the crashing of falling trees broke the tranquil silence of the mountain range. A terrified flock of black birds flew out of their nests in the trees, just in time to avoid a large misfire of red chakra. It left a trail of destruction for miles, stopping only once it had hit the far mountain wall._

_As the smoke and rubble cleared, a limping man's silhouette came into view atop it. His last step was on a loose rock, which resulted in him sliding and eventually rolling the rest of the way down. He laid on his back at the bottom for a minute, then tried to sit up using the arm that wasn't broken._

_"Na… Naruto!" He began to scream hysterically. He watched in horror, as the same swell of chakra that had hit him began to form into the shape of a large red fox, towering over even the mountains, its nine tails swishing around in the air restlessly. The shadow of the monster fell over his broken body._

_"Sasuke!"_

_He turned towards the scream, which was coming from his former team mate, Haruno Sakura. He grasped the Katana hilt at his side, ready to attack her, if necessary. He could probably muster up one last good lunge with his remaining chakra. She stopped running at this obvious threat, just watching now._

_His attention split when he heard the Fox scream out. Just as he was turning around to look, a large paw slammed him into the rock face once again, pinning him there. Crushing his insides…_

_"Traitor…" The fox brought its head now to eye level, snarling at him. Its breath was like rancid meat, and large globs of saliva fell from his mouth, sending steam up from the ground, the acid content creating a hole under the traitor of Konoha. Sasuke was no longer conscious._

_"Stop it Naruto! Please!"_

_The fox's head swung to the left, snarling at little Sakura nastily. The fox pulled his paw away from Sasuke, letting him fall into the hole his saliva made. He took a single step towards her, and leaned down to be eye level with her, blood lust radiating off him._

_They stared at each other for a few seconds, Sakura uncertain what to do. She knew this wasn't Naruto, and that words would not reach him. Those angry red eyes told her that much. He was all Kyuubi now._

_ 'Kyuubi' turned his head to the side as other Ninja approached them, crouching back for a lunge away from her. He couldn't seem to keep his attention on one target at a time, not with so many interruptions._

_She too, turned towards them - Neji, Kakashi-sensei, and Lee. Sakura had the vague thought of wondering ,'Where the hell were Ino and the other boys?' "No! He'll kill you! It's not Naruto!" She shouted._

_As if to confirm her warning scream, the fox lunged at the group, who scattered into the air. They landed as far off as they could, Kakashi and Shikamaru together; Neji and Lee landing near Sakura. Kyuubi used his tails to swipe at them as he roared into the sky, successfully hitting Kakashi and Shikamaru, throwing both them and the tree line back a few miles._

_The cry sounded as if he were in pain._

_Just as abruptly as he had attacked, the fox stopped moving. He just froze, seemingly no longer breathing. Then, he fell to the side. The Chakra forming His very realistic shape began to dissipate, like fur being blown away by the wind. A black form fell from where the head had been, hitting the ground with a heavy thud._

--

**Sakura looked **up as she felt the sheets shift under her now tear-streaked face. Sasuke had shifted positions ever so slightly, barely enough for him to now look down at her. The look on his face was one of confusion, and physical pain.

"What… Sakura…" He moaned slightly, turning his head to the window. Well, good to know he still had motor functions, and that insane resistance to pain that was just so… Uchiha.

"Don't move Sasuke-kun, you'll only hurt yourself more!" Sakura jumped up, arms stretching out over his body as if to hold him down should he try anything particularly stupid, like trying to sit up. "Tsunade sama and I both agree you have way too much internal damage for you to move… Or even really be awake at the moment."

"Where's… Naruto?" Was all he said to that, pointedly ignoring the rather soothsayer portion of Sakura and Tsunade's diagnosis. Damn pessimist of a kage…

Sakura froze, uncertain how to respond to this. The knots in her stomach clenched more tightly than before, sending an instant and horrible migraine to her forehead. "He… He was busy, so he left." She lied, the words coming off her tongue easier than she ever could have imagined. Sasuke had become so easy to lie to… Probably because of the fact he had abandoned them… And there she went defending him like he was the great father of gonga, to the point of slapping Naruto.

She'd really have to find a way to apologize to him for her actions. He really didn't deserve that.

"If you see him before me… Tell him…" Sasuke closed his eyes for effect, as if to go back to sleep. He sighed to add on. "… I'm sorry."

It had the desired effect. Sakura stared, as if not sure what to say or do. For the second time in her over opinionated life, she had nothing to say. Not even a rude 'Go fuck yourself'. These two boys she'd befriended were certainly giving her mental loops to jump through.

_Inner Sakura scoffed. That was twice in one day. Outer Sakura was loosing her edge_.

Sakura let her hands fall to her sides, as she heard his breathing regulate to that of a person sleeping. Her mind still ran over what had happened.  
_'He… He had apologized…'_

_'Yeah, peachy. Are we really going with this 'forgive and forget' shebang? If so, you need to do some serious apologizing to Naru-chan. Not like anything he said was completely inaccurate, or without basis, ya know?' _Inner Sakura snapped nastily.

She sat back down again, pretending to ignore her little id. The migraine that had popped up from stress was easing up at his words. Sasuke knew he had made a mistake, and he was trying to make up for it already… Which was great.

_' Then we come to... let's see... You think sorry'll be enough for Naru-chan? I think you're gonna be unpleasantly surprised with this outcome, usuratonkachi. Even though ya should, he ain't going to take it. Oh, and by the way, don't forget about checking up on the injured Kakashi-sensei, Ino, Shikamaru, Chouji, or Tenten. You hearing me?' _

'Bite me... And I won't forget.'

Even if sorry wouldn't be enough for Naruto... No, wait, inner Sakura was the total idiot, of course he would be fine with that. Naruto was the forgiving type. He couldn't hold a grudge against anyone for long. The blond tended to find the best in people.

After all, she, Sasuke, and Naruto were together again, they could make up for it all now. Sasuke had already made the initiative to apologize. (Though it HAD taken blunt force trauma to the head coupled with mentally incapacitating pain killers) That would be the first step. Next was getting them all health and in perfect shape.

They could make up for everything, and it would all be okay..

She smiled to herself, all the pains in her body relaxing, stopping completely at the relaxing thoughts.

Everything would be fine.

* * *

A/N:

THIS IS THE REWRITE OF ALREADY GONE. PLEASE REFER TO THE TOP FOR FURTHER INFO. THIS STORY WILL CONTAIN A CRAP LOAD OF SPOILERS. . Read on if you dare!

This story takes place when most of the rookies are sixteen or so. It is a fiction where Naruto leaves again with Jiraiya, to train further, mostly to control the Kyuubi, learn the Sage techniques, etc.

Thanks to narni4eva for being my beta!

A/N End


	2. Leaving

**Story Name**: Already Gone

**Chapter name**: Leaving.

* * *

**Naruto silently** made his way through the cold shadowed streets of Konoha, pretty much alone in his long walk home. As it was January, there were snowflakes falling around him, piling up slowly on the lampposts, signs, and the ground. He left deep footsteps behind him, which were quickly filling up. No one else was stupid enough to walk around in this weather, or irritated to the point they didn't actually notice. Despite the evenings events, he looked disturbingly calm.

He had stopped by to see Kakashi sensei and Shikamaru on his way out; though the former had still been unconscious, and the latter had been sleeping. (Or pretending to be asleep, he was talking about Shikamaru, the lazy genius. Wouldn't be the first time.)

Technically, he himself was supposed to still be in the hospital, but thanks to the good 'ol attentive medical staff, he had managed to slip off for the night. If all went planned, in the morning it wouldn't matter anyway.

As if to prove this point, he felt that familiar tug in his mind of that person wanting to talk. Jackass, Naruto wasn't his dog to be called whenever he wished. Yet, that person did. And every time, Naruto answered.

_" Naru kun, you look better than the last time I saw you… _More color in your cheeks_." _ The rather snide comment about the burns on his face did not amuse Naruto in the least. He grunted, making this point clear to the taller man that had appeared there, in front of the Kyuubi's cage. The person stayed hidden in the shadows, careful to keep his cruel voice low.

The foxes red eyes viewed the two suspiciously, moving only slightly up and down from his breathing.

The person spoke again. _"Well, have you made a decision then?_ Yeah, made a decision yet, stupid?_" _

_"I haven't… had the time." _Was Naruto's rather low response, leaning against two of the thinning wooden bars that kept the Kyuubi trapped in his mind. They were warm to the touch. He ignored the 'stupid' comment, as his guest often had such rude comments.

_"… Do you intend on making it soon? _Time ain't really on either of our hands_." _The person reached out of the shadow to touch a bar, pulling it back abruptly. He wasn't fast enough to keep Naruto from seeing the fact his green hand had been burnt from them. "Like a damn microwave in here_."_

_"Come again?" _Naruto gave raised a brow. Microwaves were a little off subject, even for a splite personality Venus fly trap.

"A microwave oven. The Kyuubi is sending out waves of chakra that are making the water molecules in the wood vibrate fast. It's also why the bars are thinning, the constant attack- Oh never mind, I know it's over your head even in simple terms… You'll figure it out soon enough, idiot._ Sir Leader Sama does not like waiting. We will give you one more month to make your decision."_

The person disappeared from Naruto's mind with a light whoosh sound as the blond stepped out of the street's shadows, and into the pale yellow moon light. His thoughts were now on the reasons that had originally kept him here- His promised to Sakura to bring Sasuke back being the biggest. It hurt him the way Sakura had treated him after fulfilling it, like having salt poured into an open wound, then having it cleaned with a metal bristle brush. Plus made a good excuse to leave the village for a bit... Sounded better than just abruptly leave.

But that was his past, this offer was his future. He had to embrace that, by first going to Jiraiya. The hermit had plenty more to teach him, and this time, he would be ready to learn it. All of it… Especially the Sage techniques. He needed those. Hell, he craved the knowledge of them… That would be the only way he could survive in _their _organization.

Sighing, he ran a hand through his rather long spikes, holding them down for a moment as he walked. The snow that had landed in his hair either fell off or melted from the sudden heat.

Naruto could already tell, the time ahead was going to be a looong, tedious, and annoying.

--

**_The Next Day, January 16th, 6:30 A.M._**

**Jiraiya yawned** as he waited for Naruto. He was sitting on Konoha's surrounding wall, close to the north gate. Snow was still falling from the night before, adding to the thick white sheen. Personally, they hadn't expected winter this year- The weather was all off, so the sudden snowfall the night before had been a pleasant surprise for everyone. Meant they hadn't totally screwed the world over. Yet.

Moving on. The old hermit wasn't exactly surprised by the kid's sudden desire to want to train again. In fact, with Sasuke's 'miraculous' coming back, he had almost been expecting it. (Though perhaps not so soon.) He had been expecting the kid to get a let down by that girl, Sakura, just cuz the nice guys always, yes, always, finish last. And of course, he knew better than any one, what better path was there to take when in rejection, than to go with the most perverted lecherous old man around?

Nope, there wasn't one.

He spied Naruto heading his way, with a huge khaki knapsack on his back… Jiraiya frowned, looking at what Naruto was wearing. It wasn't his usual attire of the black and orange jumpsuit, rather, he wore a black canvas type jacket, and what looked like a pair of khaki cargos. The bandages were still on his arms, more for necessity than appearances. The hermit leaped down to meet Naruto, looking rather confused. Where the hell was the kid's hiate-ate?

"Are you… ready?" He asked uncertainly, once the kid was in hearing range.

"Yeah. Where all are we going this time?" Naruto stopped once he was at the Hermit's side.

"We'll start in Iwagakure… Get some earth techniques down… Then we'll see from there."

"I want to learn the sage techniques. Asap. Think that'll be possible, ero-sanin?"

"Later. Don't think you have the endurance for that training yet." Jiraiya didn't find it necessary to mention he didn't hardly know the techniques himself, and that it wasn't really up to him whether or not Naruto learned them.

Course, it'd be one helluva test of endurance, surviving Iwagakure looking so much like his father. Heh. That'd be some bad ass training, right there. Best way for Naruto to learn to avoid or counter a technique was for him to see it in action... Or rather, feel it in action…

"… Sounds good, I guess. Did you tell Tsunade?"

"Of course. I'm not you."

Naruto only nodded, before started to walk again. The kid was obviously in a hurry to leave the pain behind. With a sigh, Jiraiya caught up to him, and they left Konoha together, the only sign that they had been there, their foot prints in the snow…

* * *

A/N: Yatta ne! I finally rewrote chappie tw, aren't you all so proud? Beta narni4eva, love her to death, would suggest her to anyone. And everyone.

Pi

A/N End


	3. Five years later

**Story: The Legend of the Gutsy Ninja  
**

**Chapter Three: Five years later...  
**

* * *

**January 1st, 9:oo AM Kumogakure**

-

**Naruto ran** the women's razor over his head while standing in the shower, letting the hot water run down his buffed/trained-to-perfection body while he did so. He was getting rid of the light stubble that had grown across his head. Having to do this every few days was the price of his high maintenance hairless cut.

This new fad of his was thanks to the idiots from Iwa. Naruto had to do _something _drastic in order to coexist with them four years ago, while training there. When in sight of the blond spikes, they turned on the tunnel vision and had one train of thought- 'Kill ze yellow flash! Kill!'- Even though he had explained multiple times he WASN'T his dad.

At any rate, he and the old hermit had decided getting rid of the golden locks completely was his best bet as Naruto wouldn't have his hair dyed any other color. He preferred having none at all. Fortunately, he started to like the look, so he kept it.

"You almost ready, kid? The workout earlier was shorter than this." Jiraiya called out from the balcony, his voice coming in through the open window.

"I cannot help I'm better than you, now can I sensei?" Naruto commented dully in a deep husked voice, stepping out of the shower. Most other people would take this as a very arrogant remark. Jiraiya took it as a hilarious joke, and nearly fell out laughing.

The skinhead grabbed the white towel off the rod, first drying his head and then patting the towel down his body from there. When he finished that, he wrapped it around his waist hiding his goods. As the bathroom was western style, he had a mirror above a porcelain sink in the same room. He paused in front of it, wiping the steamed glass 'clean' with his hand.

He doubted seriously that anyone in Konoha would recognize him. Naruto's facial features had changed considerably. His face had grown longer and leaner, giving it an almost sharp edge. His eyebrows were at just the right angle; paired with his flat affect he appeared to really just not give a shit… The only things that remained the same were his vibrant blue eyes and the three whisker marks on each cheek.

And that was just his face.

"I am nearly ready, merely lacking clothing. You may go on ahead, if you wish. It will not bother me to catch up." Naruto came out of the bathroom looking around the room they had lived in for the last two years or so. Two bed rolls lay rolled out on either side, separated by a shoji screen. It looked… neater than usual on Jiraiya's side, and on Naruto's, was set up in the same meticulous manner it had been throughout their stay despite the 'chaos' moving tended to be for most.

Currently his bed was his staging area; laid out on it was his over stuffed worn out khaki knapsack (He was slightly curious as to how much longer it would last in that condition), a set of three pouches, two for kunai and shuriken and a small ninja tool pouch for the miscellaneous stuff. A small black tanto was also there.

Leaned up against the wall, nearly touching the ceiling even at its sharp angle; was his new weapon of choice, a nodaichi named Kyoufuu, with an ivory colored sheath.

"I think I'd rather wait. The kage and I don't have the warm fuzzies for one another, if you remember correctly…" The old man sneer of 'I am not a miracle worker' was obvious in Jiraiya's voice.

"Perhaps if you were a bit less… Ahm, _perverted_ sensei, women would not be so eager to harm you." Stepping lightly on the tatami, Naruto went over to his bed's edge, squatting in front of the knapsack. He had a set of cloths there, the ones he had planned on wearing for the day.

One piece at a time, he quickly put it all on, looking rather ragged.

"Aha! Nice joke kiddo. I'm not perverted, I just know what I like." Jiraiya had come on inside from the balcony, obviously sensing Naruto was about done. At first, it had been odd for the hermit to look at the once 'high on hyperactive life' boy be so… Flat. But he'd gotten over it. Better than the kid faking a personality with him. "You know… we need to buy you some new clothes. It must have just been the water in Mizu, you haven't grown an inch since we left there… So it's not as if you'll grow out of them ten seconds after we buy them now."

It took him standing next to the Hermit for one to really see how tall he had gotten- He topped off at the airy height of 6'9". No, his growth since leaving Konoha wasn't unnatural. Promise. Not even… well, for the most part not… unhealthy. (The fact this growth spurt had started in Mizu had seriously made Jiriaya first question what was in the water there, as the village had been known for producing insanely tall individuals.)

"I never grew that fast before, sensei. You were imagining it." Naruto grabbed his amenities, strapping them on over his clothing in a series of snaps and buckles.

"Ah, finally finished? I think it's a new record, longest time taken by a man for prepping to leave."

"… You can be quite annoying, Sensei." Lazily, Naruto reached into pocket, to get a pack of cancer stix (the actual name of the brand) out. Huh, he had forgotten those were in there. Well, waste not want not. The Uzumaki stuck the cigarette in his mouth, not planning on lighting it till they left the hotel.

"With all your bad habits, I'm amazed you made it through the sage training alive - let alone so successfully."

"Habits do not necessarily reflect a person's skill. Look at yourself, Sensei. I would never guess you to be one of the legendary three when catching you peeping at the women's side of the Onsen."

Jiraiya guffawed at the statement, slapping his pupil hard on the back. "Touche! Though that could be taken as evidence of superior eavesdropping skills, you know."

"I suppose it is all in perspective. Can we please get a move on? I am more than ready to go…. My nicotine deprived cells are screaming in agony." Naruto moved the cigarette with his tongue to have it sticking out the other corner, plopping down so that he could put on his black, soless sandals he wore that kept his steps noiseless. (Yes, he wore them even in the snow, as they were a necessary part for his sage jutsu.)

"Yes yes, to the Raikage's office so you can say goodbye to her."

"… It will be a pain sensei. To have to climb the ranks in Konoha. It will take me a while to get to a rank of any use to our… needs."

"Don't worry about that, I've already got it covered… Er, I think I do, at any rate." Jiraiya grinned, before looking away suddenly. "Won't say more, as the walls have ears around here." He poked a wall, making a heavy clunk sound, before turning towards the door, motioning for his pupil to follow.

Naruto did so obediently, without argument.

--

**The time** it took to get outside the hotel was short. It took even less time to get to the Raikage's home. The duo was already within the mansion, and on their way to the Raikage's main room, to officially tell her that they were leaving. She held the same expression as Naruto did, though she was perhaps more 'agreeable'. She did appropriately comment on how she hated to see them go and how Naruto had perhaps been her best student when it came to her techniques. Jiraiya had laughed and answered accordingly and lastly Naruto said nothing, merely nodded where it was expected.

"Naruto kun," The young fifth Raikage, Kashiko Misa, stated, apparently intent on getting a response, "You must come back to see us… Soon. I should dislike if I never see my best student again." She stood, giving him a rather stiff hug and rigid kisses on each cheek. He rigidly returned it.

Jiraiya had truly never seen anything funnier than two people who had trained themselves to feel nothing, try and express sadness at departure, friendship and gratitude all at once, without the aide of a substitute personality. He honestly thought he might fall out from holding in the rolling laughs.

"I will come back as soon as I can." They pulled apart, looking at the hermit, as he tried to stifle the bodily noises. He smiled innocently, motioning for them to continue with the conversation.

"Moving on then." The Raikage diverted both their attention back to the parting 'ritual'. Misa reached into her black and silver filigree desk, to pull out a square pale blue package, with a ribbon on top. "I have a gift for you Naruto kun, one I think you will find very useful if you intend to go through with the plans you mentioned to me a few days ago."

Naruto took it from her with little apprehension. Finding there to be no need for words of thanks (yet), he pulled the ribbon, letting it fall into his hand, pulling the paper away. Inside, was a Kumogakure head band, much like his Konoha one, the minor difference of a cloud like symbol instead of the Konoha leaf.

He looked up at her. "Thank you, Misa chan. Should I take this as… Evidence of your support for our goal?"

"I'd call it more of a crusade. But yes, it is my token of support in any venture you may undertake. In theory. I'm sure you understand this makes you an official Shinobi of Kumo, and bound to follow my orders whenever issued to you." She made a rather unenthused 'squee' like motion with her hands, then let them fall to her sides. "That also means you can come here at anytime you please…"

"There seems to always be a catch with you…" Naruto placed the band in his Ninja tool pouch.

"I _am_ a Kage of Kumo, if you remember."

"Duly noted."

"Now, make sure you keep up with the personalities I taught you. Practice them often as possible. So that when you need them, you aren't unable to perform." Misa nodded coming from around her desk to his side, then changing completely in expression. Her eyes lit up rather devilishly, and she ran her hands through her hair to make it poof. Even her breasts seem to swell. Misa went from plain to sexy in under .03 seconds. Huskily, she purred, "Hafta be able to relate to all the _needs_ of _every situation_, don'tcha Naruuu chan?"

She had made her point (and the innuendo) rather clear.

"I will be sure to remember your kind words. Now, until I meet you again." He only nodded, turning away to leave, Jiraiya following. They were outside heading towards the gates rather quickly.

--

**"What was** it you wanted to tell me, earlier?" Naruto asked once they were on the outskirts of the village, and walking along the snowy mountain path. It was always winter here…

The hermit, once satisfied they were far enough out and alone, started talking.

"First off, I'm worried about Tsunade. Hell, worried about all of Konoha. I don't know what the hell she was thinking, attacking and taking control of Kusagakure last winter. It strikes me like she's trying to start a war with the other countries… You know Iwa's pissed about it, as she's obviously making moves towards them. Thank kami that revised treaty with Kumo and Suna was signed before her antics… I doubt that was a coincidence though."

"Of course it wasn't coincidence. But this hardly has anything to do with-"

"It has to do with _everything _we've done up until now. What I want from you, while you're in the village, is to get me information. She's kept me out of the loop for too long. Check missions, especially in the Jounin and ANBU corner. Nothing below B Rank." The hermit handed his pupil a scroll that held Tsunade's name on it. "And give this to her for me, will you?"

"Hai. I can do all of that. I assume I have permission to infiltrate the village archives?" Naruto took it from him, sticking it in his knapsack's side scroll holder (Originally, a cell phone holder, but it worked both ways). There was a seal on it, so he didn't bother trying to read it, nor would he later.

"Yes. Don't bother asking her… if she says no, it'll be obvious who did it."

"I agree. Now, what of the Akatsuki?"

"… What of 'em? Their movements have been erratic. None of them have been in your direction, which I assume is because of your 'apprenticeship' with them. Best move you could have made for survival, as you're one of the last Jinchuuriki that hasn't been caught… And apparently one of their members has been replaced, though it's been some time since it happened." Jiraiya looked over, eyes flashing. "It was one of the high members, I believe. I'm sure you've heard. Nothing to do with you, I know."

"Is that so? Did they replace Kakuzu, or Hidan?" Naruto nodded slowly at the info.

"They weren't very high in the ranks, and this member was killed only recently. A woman. Her body was found somewhere in Ame no kuni." Jiraiya shrugged pointing at Naruto's tool pouch. "Careful carrying that Kumo hiate ate in Konoha. The Hyuugas are still bitter about the attempted kidnapping of their heir, treaty or not."

"With good reason." Naruto stopped walking as the two came to a fork in the road, turning to face Jiraiya fully. "Where will you be going, after this?"

"Wherever I feel. I have no commitment to any village, unlike yourself, who now has one to two." Jiraiya pulled out a second scrolled, putting it firmly into the Uzumaki's hand. "This is yours. You'll be glad you have it once you're back in Konoha, I heard your former apartment complex burned down a year or more ago."

Naruto stuck his finger under the end, pulling the paper off and unrolling it. "Your going to let me live in your family home?" He stated, slower than his usual speech.

"Not like I'm using it, obviously enough. Just keep a room ready for me… I'd suggest avoiding the area around Oto no kuni. I haven't heard from Orochimaru, but I can guess he'd love nothing better than to kill you right now. The Sea would be your best bet."

"Of course."

" 'Fore I forget… what personality you plan on using in Konoha, my little walking mental case? "

"I have no intention of fully reverting back… Perhaps the Yakuza one, or else the scholar…. I need to keep up the façade of being angry with Sakura. Even if she hasn't told people, it keeps me out of the limelight as being the antagonist. Also gives me a petty edge; people will avoid conflict with me to some extent just to not get on my shit list."

"Consider yourself disowned if you use the Yakuza…"

"What are your suggestions then, if not the Yakuza?"

"The Scholar would be good. Or something that is non-threatening… Like a Buddhist monk. That would be perfect."

"… Are you suggesting I refuse to kill my enemies? Follow the sutra? Pretend I have a religion? Et cetera?"

"Yes. Put yourself in an even better light."

"You do realize that when it comes to karma, if I do that, I will be officially screwed? I will act as is expected, but the ulterior motive will be for the wrong reasons."

"You'll have ulterior motives no matter which personality you pick."

"It is my religious preference not to use the Monk."

"Why the hell did you make him up then? Fine… Just… Pick the scholar. It'll explain why you've gained such a vocabulary, and will cover your bases… You can impress them with your musical skills… And being a klutz is good too… Gives people a sense of innocence. Seeing as this training makes you an intentional walking dissociative personality disorder."

"That can be done. Good bye, Jiraiya Sensei. Be careful getting out of this peninsula."

The two parted ways at the Gate, Naruto taking the southern path, Jiraiya taking the northern one.

After he had gone a good mile or so down the Sothern path, Naruto stopped, looking back behind him. Once positive Jiraiya had gone on, he darted into the snowy woods, cutting through them to go the western path. He had no interest of going to Konoha by sea, he had some unfinished business in Otogakure that he needed to complete.

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A/N: w00t Chappie three rewrote! Beta'd by nani4eva. Good beta.

Please Review!

A/N End


	4. The Happenings in Konoha

**Story: The Legend of the Gutsy Ninja  
**

**Chapter Four: The happenings in Konoha  
**

* * *

**January 2nd, 12:oo PM, Konohagakure**

**"… Kakashi senpai,** it's a mission to Ame. I think we were all were assigned to attack there." Sasuke placed the scroll on the table, which had his most recent orders form the Kage's office. He then used the same hand to sip on a beer. "I'm starting to think your theory might be right."

"No, we all weren't. Mine says I'm going to Kusa, along with Ino. Just to act as a way to put fear into the people a little, I think, since we have control of that place now… I mean, they are obviously rebellious, can't expect them to take this lying down." Sakura waved her hand in the air a bit, and then placed it beside Sasuke's.

"Thought as much. Seems this time around, everyone in the ANBU, or are considered high level Jounin, have been assigned to areas near Iwa. She's not outright saying it… But I believe she's going to make a move on them as soon. Got to show whose is bigger." Kakashi sighed heavily, rubbing his brow. "I can't believe we haven't been attacked by Iwa, or by one of the other countries…"

"The treaties. If anyone declares war, Suna and Kumo are supposedly obliged to be on our side. They'd rather not deal with a fight against Iwa, with all the natural barriers that land has." Sakura pulled her waist length pink hair over her shoulder, braiding it absentmindedly.

"She and the elders probably feel a war is the best way to go. Konoha is at its economic peek… Means it's only down from here in a few years. It'll be a huge gain if we succeed and take over." Sasuke added his two bits, eyes going between the two. He'd never admit it, but he looked a helluva lot like his brother and father…

"Pretty big loss if we don't. If we start this war, people are going to start picking sides… But even with the treaties, if we pick a bad enough enemy Suna and Kumo might turn on us. She's got to have something to backup the idea we can win this." Sakura took the time to point out the flaw in her earlier statement.

This had been a conversation for the last year or so for the trio. Kakashi had been amongst the first to realize the obvious acts of aggression. He was the only one to start discussing possibilities of the calamities when the inevitable happened- That being, Iwa getting their cage rattled and retaliating.

"I spoke with Jiraiya, he seems to think the Akatsuki are participating in this. He has a theory that Tsunade might be using them to help make all the ends meet. I'm still not sure on that one though, seems to me getting in good graces with the Akatsuki would be difficult… let alone getting them to do what you want…" Kakashi trailed off, lost in thought.

"Senpai, you spoke with Jiraiya?! Did he say anything about Naruto coming back soon?" Sakura snapped to attention, no longer playing with her hair. Sasuke also seemed interested, though he didn't make it quite so obvious.

"We didn't talk about Naruto. Forgive me for forgetting, but I found other pressing matters on my mind." Sarcasm and annoyance were in Kakashi's voice, which directed the two kiddos back to the problem at hand.

"I agree, Akatsuki support sounds a little far fetched. 'Cept for maybe… If they encouraged a war, it'd be like opening the door for them to take over. If we fall. They'd be playing Devil's Advocate, working it from all sides to make sure everyone fails miserably." Sasuke shrugged.

"I doubt Tsunade would depend on such flaky support. That's not like her."

"She's got to be getting it from somewhere. Obviously not us, as we aren't officially informed of anything… We get anything new from Shikamaru?"

"Nothing." Sasuke updated him on the matter.

"Shizune?" Kakashi turned to Sakura.

"Nothing on my end either."

"Sai?"

"He tried to tell me something about Danzo, but he acted… Really strange. I didn't press the matter at the time, I think he might be under a Jutsu or something. Or he felt that the place wasn't secure enough." Sasuke scratched his ear.

"… Alright. Keep me posted on everything. I'll talk with you all later."

-

**"The _hell_**is that?" Kotetsu stared at the horizon to the north of Konoha, mouth open slightly. He had been walking with Izumo down the busy market street. After spotted the thick, far off stream of black smoke, he had stopped to stare. A few others had joined him here and there, whispering amongst themselves.

"Kotetsu-" His comrade had begun to talk in a scolding voice, probably because of the fact Kotetsu had cursed in public. He also abruptly stopped, his eyes widening when they caught sight of the obvious threat. They quickly narrowed, as he finally came to a conclusion of what it was. "… Looks like Oto is burning…"

"That is one helluva bomb fire if we're seeing smoke that thick, this far off. Could be something closer, ya know, one of the towns around here."

The blemish on the sky grew quickly, and added a red sheen despite the time of day.

"I doubt that highly. We'd already be there, defending the town. No, it's Oto… Kotetsu! Go to Kakashi sensei, and inform him this may be Iwa heading our way. I will go tell the Hokage." Izumo hissed the order to Kotetsu, both darting off in separate directions. This alarmed the gathering crowd, but not to the point they were screaming and running around. Just enough for them to know there was a problem and they needed to get things done and get home.

* * *

A/N: w00t Chappie four! If anyone wants to give a great gift, they could review! Subtract the number 16 from whatever number of reviews I have for this chapter. Those are from before the rewrite. Any after that, is what is for the new one.

Happy Holidays!

Pi So

P.S.

**I, as both a reader and a writer find it increasingly infuriating that stories can get thousands of hits yet only a few reviews **(Like this one)**. What could take you five or ten minutes to read could have taken someone several hours to write and a lot of planning **(I don't post anymore until I have a full storyboard. That takes ages for those who don't know!)**.**

**Reviews encourage people and make them feel good about the writing. (**If I don't get many reviews, then I tend to... Slowly... decrease... writing... on that story. I loose interest, even if I really don't want to, because I feel people don't have interest in the story. I may pick interest back up later, but that could be ages.)

**I, _Pirate Soul_, do solemnly swear to review all the fics I read, regardless of the number of reviews, its age, or anything else.  
I have joined the Review Revolution.** (Refer to above A/N in the oath)

**Copy and Paste this into your profile** (Or story)** to join the Revolution**

A/N End


	5. The White Snake

**Story: The Legend of the Gutsy Ninja  
**

**Chapter Five: The White Snake  
**

* * *

**January 2nd, 11:45 AM, Otogakure**

Thick, black pillars of smoke darkened the sky above the burning village of Oto. Black flakes of ash fell in the rice paddies near the area of destruction, polluting the water. Men, woman and children lay on the ground, charred to a crisp. One ore two flailed miserably, their screams slowly being choked out by the very smell of their own burning flesh.

Inhumanly ignoring the carnage he had inflicted, Naruto unzipped the black and red cloak he wore, staring blankly at the last standing Oto Kunoichi. She was the last thing standing between him and his current goal - Orochimaru's mansion. Rather, the Ring within the mansion.

"How…? You're only one man. Akatsuki or not, you're only one man! You had help!" Her accusation was enraged and had an edge of defeat to it, though her stance with the Katana was one of pure offense. She was wounded, burns and a few scrapes and gashes. He did admire the high level of spirit and pride she clearly had…But it was misplaced, much like her loyalty.

"One, I am more than an 'Akatsuki'. Two, yours was never really a village of Shinobi. Just ruffians and outlaws." Naruto held up his gloved hands, smoky blue chakra covering them like a thick oil. His method of attack hadn't really enabled him to fight anyone face to face. Acting as a true ninja tended to have that downfall… He was looking forward to trying his new jutsu… A sort of delinquent version of the Sage techniques.

"Fuck you!" She lunged at him, slashing the Katana madly. Oh darn. The girl was too agitated to give him a good fight. With the smallest of moves he dodged the blade, its landing splashing up a good deal of bloody mud. Naruto slammed his foot on it before she could re-chamber, taking advantage of the moment to lightly run his right hand across her exposed upper back.

Now finished, he scooted a few feet away so that she could bounce back, weapon and all.

"You perv!" Her cry of disgust and horror almost sparked a bit of amusement in him.

Almost.

"Well… I do know what I like." He thought of Jiraiya's earlier words to him, moving his now chakra free right hand as a testament of what he'd done.

The look on her face told a thousand words; she didn't understand the motion, and more than likely wouldn't catch on to what he had done until it was too late.

Naruto flicked his right hand so that it was positioned in front of him, giving him the look of a magician prior to revealing his prestige. The Kunoichi went rigid with the movement, controlled by it, though there was no visible binding. Confusion and pain twisted up her face as she gurgled a yelp.

"Is Orochimaru home?" He asked, moving his fingers in a slow and calculated manner, as if playing an air piano. Cracks accompanied each of these movements, all coming from his opponents twitching form.

At the end of these sounds, her body went abruptly limp, head lolling to the side unnaturally, then falling to the ground. Whatever bonds he had on her broke in death.

Oh dear. That was a little unexpected. He hadn't meant to snap her neck like that, merely give her a warning. At least he knew better for next time -

The newest Akatsuki member tensed, sidestepping barely an inch and twisting his body to the side so that he was a smaller target from behind. A long purple snake shot past him as if out of a cannon, hitting some burning wall. He heard it fall from the random onslaught. Oh ho, this was working out nicely. He did so love when situations solved themselves.

"You came out of your hole." Naruto craned his neck to look at the white clad figure about twenty feet to his left.

Orochimaru looked much as he had before, only his hair color was different. A pearly white... Had his most recent body lasted that long? That was intriguing. The Raikage would be most interested in that information.

"Thought I'd save you the trouble of looking for me, Naruto-kun... My home can be quite the maze." That silky smooth lisp of a madman was a little too nostalgic. How on earth had Sasuke put up with it for so long?

"Yes, I remember. Thank you, I am on the clock." This deadpanned statement perhaps would not have had the same angering effect if expressed sarcastically. Giving Naruto a rather spirited hiss, Orochimaru slung his head out into a wide arc, showing just how long it could get.

That could _not_ be healthy for the spine…

Running with a floppiness in his upper half, Orochimaru lunged at Naruto, his body independently flipping to the right and away form the Akatsuki member. His head bobbed around Naruto, closing in the distance for an attack every so often. Every time, Naruto moved, just enough to barely dodge them.

Once he had enough of the dance, Naruto pulled his Nodaichi from its sheath with abnormal ease. He took a long, spinning stride forward, thrusting the back of the blade out in front of him, blocking the next attack. The impact busted Orochimaru's nose and the Sannin's reflexes brought his head back to his body.

Blood poured down the front of his white robe. He looked like the main ghost of a Japanese horror film, all set and ready to haunt.

"It's not a wonder you couldn't keep us from taking your prized Sharingan back. You are weak to the point it is pathetic." Naruto made special effort to call Sasuke the 'Sharingan'. It would hit more of a nerve for the old Snake, as the Uchiha's actual personality had been an insignificant obstacle to be put up with for what he wanted.

"Pathetic? Perhaps. But I would say your running away when he returned tops even that." Orochimaru baited, having regained his composure with the pain. He touched the blood flowing from his nose with the tips of his fingers, then looked at it curiously.

"Why are you here, dressed in that get-up? Not to talk about Sasuke's betrayal of all sides, I hope."

"What do you know, Orochi-kun… Your blood is red. And here I thought it would be black." Naruto ignored the question, the chakra appearing on his hands again, then squatted down ever so slightly. He was clearly preparing to spring.

"You're not the first to be surprised. Tell me… Who helped you destroy my village? You knew my elite shinobi's techniques before they even used them." Orochimaru's question was asked in a way that it could almost be a statement.

Naruto cocked his head to the side, "I'm sure you've already figured out the answers to both your questions."

This time, the Akatsuki member took the initiative- He made a double step, then a step slide forward, closing the distance between them quickly, using one arm to brandish his sword in five slashes in front of him. He wasn't holding it in a traditional manner, if his hands were at his sides, the blade would poke out to his left side, razor edge forward.

Orochimaru began summoning his own weapon of choice the second he saw Naruto move. His tongue had just barely managed to pull the sword out of his throat when Naruto's first blow landed and knocked the air from his chest, subsequently making him drop the blade.

The Snake Sanin slid back in the mud, bringing his arms up to block the attack, hissing. He was actually losing against this punk! That in itself was enraging, putting the fact all of his minions had just been treated like human torches aside.

Orochimaru threw a desparate low front kick, aiming for Naruto's knee - It missed, and went between Naruto's legs. The Sanin took advantage of this, pushing himself forward and slamming his body into Naruto. He slammed his foot down, a little more at an angle than Naruto's legs.

The overall effect of the motion made Naruto unbalanced, and sent him falling backwards head first. Orochimaru took a few large steps back, getting as far down the street as he could and still see his opponent.

Not that he had any intention of lettings things go that far in the wrong direction again. In one graceful motion of shedding his human flesh, Orochimaru revealed his truest form:

The White Snake.

* * *

A/N:

Didja like the fight scene? I've never been really good at those, so I'd like to hear some peoples opinions on it...

Happy Saint Patty's day everyone!

Thanks to narni4eva for being my beta!

A/N End


	6. Who gets the be the Martyr?

**Story: **The Legend of the Gutsy Ninja**  
**

**Chapter Five:** Who gets the be the Martyr?**  
**

* * *

**January 2nd, 2:45 PM, Otogakure**

**NARUTO LEANED** heavily against the stairwell's wall, sliding down it as he stumbled down the steps, leaving a smear of blood. The White Snake form of Orochimaru had been unexpectedly difficult to finish off, he hadn't prepared appropriately. Ah well – he had survived, and very little of the white snake remained. All that remained of this mission was the further acquisition of the ring. Following his orders, just like any good underling.

Pein would be pleased.

Stumbling into the underground room, Naruto blinked as his eyes adjusted to the medieval torch lighting. The place was pretty grimy – and over the years, Naruto had come to not prefer grimy. Tables were cluttered randomly with religious objects, flasks, and a few bodies that were clearly being worked on. Probably by Kabuto – it would be advantageous to anyone to get ahold of some of his research – Especially to Naruto, now.

"You killed him."

Naruto stiffened, looking back into the corner of the dungeon-like room that remained dark. Downright shameful that he hadn't sensed that chakra skulking around back there. But seeing as he hadn't… Why the lack of attack? He had always had the impression of… instability when it came to Kabuto. Especially when it came to the safety of his snake master, there simply wasn't something quite right with that creep. "Indeed. As you can see, he left a bit of a mark."

"I should kill you. It'd be easy enough, right now." Kabuto came out into the light, arms crossed. He had aged a bit since they had last met, most personified by his upgrade in clothing, a long white coat went over his usual black jumpsuit and gray sash. His glasses also had a nicer look to them; clearly they were more expensive than his old ones. Loyalty did have its perks, apparently. "You're already on your last leg."

"It's not wise to push me much farther, Kabuto. Though I am weak, Kyuubi is not. It's been years since I let him stretch his legs. He'll only be mildly insulted by your lack of being a real challenge." Naruto started moving again, leaning now on the tables as he looked around for the fabled jerky hand that sported Orochimaru's Akatsuki ring. What? It would just waste time if he didn't go ahead and start looking. If the metaphorical shit was about to hit the fan, he would have preferred have his objective in his possession over searching for it through rubble. Priorities. They were important.

"I'm sure he'd find more difficulty than he would have during past meetings. But, I'm afraid my threat is all words. I have no intention of fighting you." Kabuto started moving towards a cabinet, opening it and pulling out a bit of loosely wrapped cloth. He brought it over to the injured shinobi, holding it out. "Here, the arm. This is what you're after, yes? Or rather, the ring."

Naruto looked at it, reaching out to remove the black cloth covering it. The jerkied black hand jutted out, the ring boldly colored against it. He took it, looking down to Kabuto. "The tune you're currently singing is unfamiliar to me. What do you want, exactly?"

"Orochimaru was failing. Miserably. The loss of the sharingan hit him harder than I could have ever anticipated. And over the last few years, I began separated myself from him. Looking for new ways to survive." Kabuto smiled, dropping the arm. "I hear you've been looking for opportunities to further your jutsu skills in… the medical arts."

"Why should I trust you?" A legitimate question, certainly.

Laughter followed. "Who do you think provided Pein with the information you used to defeat the Oto shinobi?"

"I remember the days when you were irreversibly attached to him." Naruto sighed, putting the ring on his appropriate finger.

"Indeed. I'll even do the grunt work involved so as to free up your time… Just don't let your hold in the world waver, and I'm the ideal right hand." Kabuto nodded, coming over to aide Naruto in standing. It was a slightly awkward situation, what with how much height Naruto had on Kabuto. "Or else, kill me where I stand. That's honestly your only options."

"I think we can make a working relationship." He accepted the assistance, and the offer. No reason to not – this whole 'emotionless' situation was quite impressive, honestly. In the past, he would have denied the valuable offer on illogical grounds. He knew he could handle it if things went south, so there really weren't any disadvantages. "So. You set the fires, then."

"… Well. An interesting statement for you to make, Naruto, it is in fact a very revealing one. Seems we have a third party acting with unknown interests." In other words, no, Kabuto did not light the fires. Or else he wasn't admitting to the action. "Want me to go ahead and patch you up?"

"Not unknown. The third party wants everyone to know what happened here today. Fires don't become quite so… monstrous without help. They're probably not done with their current initiative." They started up the stairs. "And no. Kyuubi's already started on that. I'll be fine soon."

"Then would you like me to appropriate handle this third party? Seems to me they're infringing on your duties. On your authority." Being around snakes had certainly left some impression on Kabuto, what with his little whispers of nonexistent threats to Naruto's powers. That would have to be worked on. Advisement was one thing. That was another.

"Not hardly. Let them do whatever they please. I… we have what we came for. Watching this play out is in our best interest. I think whoever they are and whomever they serve, it is their desire to play on the brewing tensions between countries. That is to our advantage." Naruto pulled a scroll from his pocket, handing it to Kabuto. "Once we are outside of this structure, activate the scroll. It'll get us out of Oto, at least."

Kabuto looked impressed, as he accepted it. Fast travel Jutsu, in their traditional uses, had been outlawed due to the potential sovereignty threats. For Naruto to have made, or even acquired the knowledge on how to make one, did say a great deal about his growth in the last few years. "I'll do my very best."

**ooo**

**THE ANBU** team finally managed to get its dispatch orders, an hour after the initial event had been observed. The team consisted of the three freest members, Uchiha Sasuke, Nara Shikamaru, and Hatake Kakashi. They made their way through the surrounding Konoha woods, each clothed to the fullest extent of ANBU- masks and all. They had been briefed to assume this was Iwa making moves to attack, and to be prepared for two Anbu to stay and kill as many as possible, while one had the grace of escape. To make sure Konoha could be warned.

Their delayed departure had Sasuke particularly upset. It would take them at least a day to get to Otogakure. Already the arsonist attackers had a huge time advantage for escape, every second counted to picking up their trail. Unless of course it was a trap and they were still there waiting, which didn't sit well with him either. The entire situation reeked of ulterior motives and bad intentions.

"It's almost like…" Shikamaru began to say, careful on what he said, not wanting to piss the touchy Uchiha off. "…I'm starting to think that the smoke signal wasn't unintentional. I can't say who did it. I can say that what we're doing right now is exactly what the arsonists want."

"What are you talking about Shikamaru?" Sasuke snapped as if on cue, glaring at the rat masked ANBU. Alright, he had been thinking something similar, but would have liked a little longer to harp on it and come up with this own conclusions.

"Tsunade has us operating on the idea that Iwagakura decided to jump up, and attack Oto. They're no ally of Iwa… but trampling over them like this is politically backward. Why do it? To try and instigate the war by come at us and… what, killing everything in their path for the hell of it? Great Public relations for Konoha if we can get that out as being the situation, suicidal for Iwa – that would be the single most isolating movement they could have made. It makes absolutely no sense for them to do this. We know from sources that everyone is dead, correct?"

"Give or take… yes." Kakashi supplied the answer, more as a means to encourage Shikamaru than anything.

"Iwa would not have done this. I propose that the person who did this was a free agent who wanted Konoha to come… Iwa to come. That person wanted to make something that just about anyone could get whiff of and respond to. It's obvious that we would come once we saw smoke. So would Iwagakure. Who's to say this isn't a trap for us to get killed by them? If something like that happened, it would almost indefinitely start a large conflict." Shikamaru concluded, ducking as he leaped under a large branch.

"But this attack is also a source for a conflict. The countries will be throwing blame back and forth at one another, and that might cause war. No one will admit that they were the ones to do it." Kakashi raised a finger, pointing that out. "That does sound a bit elaborate even by my standards."

"Might cause a war. Iwa shinobi killing Konoha Shinobi, and vice versa, is a guaranteed war. Especially paired with the fact Konoha's been making lunges in that direction for the last year or so. It wouldn't be too difficult to break the camel's back on the subject." Shikamaru shook his head. "We've got a free agent who wants to weaken the institutions we define as 'nations'. I wouldn't be surprised if they went out of their way to ensure that 'Konoha' Shinobi killed 'Iwa' Shinobi. It's not that difficult to reproduce a chunk of metal with a symbol on it."

Silence fell on the group, as they concept sunk in. Someone was obviously going to great lengths to ensure some end game. If it were war, why not go to the extremes of impersonating Shinobi from other countries? Didn't seem all that farfetched, seemed to be the logical follow up. Sasuke growled, cursing lightly. "Damned if we go, damned if we don't."

"We have to go. At least to see the situation first hand. My recommendation would be to hide out, however, and not go head first. Let them think Konoha isn't responding." Shikamaru suggested, waiting for them to listen to that.

Sasuke snorted. "Think that it'll be that easy?"

"Not really."

"Squad Eight was stationed close by at the time and supposedly responded. We lost contact with them after that. Don't forget that. This is also a retrieval mission for them." A stark reminder from Kakashi. "We'll see what we can do about hanging back, but I'd say we were sent to be Konoha's martyrs. Being who we are, we'll of course try to save our friends from their fates, meaning ours has been sealed. Tsunade isn't stupid, she knows people have been looking into things. She's killing two birds with one stone… if this all plays out according to plan."

"It won't. We can't let it." Sasuke announced stubbornly. "I don't care if we have to lie. We can't let it work. Sides, I sure as hell don't want to be a martyr for this war."

"Then we need a better plan than 'sit and wait'." Shikamaru groaned. "This is going to be troublesome, isn't it?"

**ooo**

**EXHALING SLOWLY** Sai finished setting up the stage of dead 'Konoha' shinobi and 'Iwa' shinobi. They were actually a bunch of charred Oto shinobi, but throwing a burnt up metal plate on them, and they could be whoever he wanted them to be. Not like anyone would be around to dispute it, or recognize the bodies. Time to hide. What happened beyond this point, happened. He knew Team Gai would be here in minutes, the Iwa reconnaissance team due to arrive a little after that setting up that stage beautifully. Then there would be the final ANBU team he had been informed would get there, and see all the damage. Radios signals had been blocked up to two miles outside of Oto, meaning Gai was completely in the dark.

It'd be impossible to stop those Dominoes at that point. All sai had to do, was confirm that at least one member of each team escaped, to inform their respective countries of the events that had transpired.

Sai glanced around, before leaping off into the trees. For now, he would make sure things played out right. After that was over, he intended on taking the long way back to Konoha, to avoid any unnecessary encounters with familiars. He had done as Danzo sensei has said, and made the fire burn stronger, and the smoke go higher. The young Root ANBU hadn't questioned the action very much, just followed the orders as per the usual. What of it he hadn't been jutsu'd against saying, he would tell Sasuke in order to aide his friends and the village, though that wouldn't be much. Hadn't made him curious, at any rate.

But now, he dared to be curious. Seeing Naruto kun there, had been a shock to him. Knowledge of the Akatsuki operative had been known to him, as an individual to be avoided. He hadn't been expecting the, uh, former blond to be the operative sent by the Red Dawn. Sai had actually assumed that it would be Tobi san, or Deidara sensei. The whole thing was strange.

Ah well, his part to play in this charade was done for the time being, and until he was needed again, he would not question it. He would only perform to the best of his abilities, doing missions for both Tsunade, the rebels brewing in Konoha and the Akatsuki… It was so pleasant not having to pick a side, and waiting to see who won out.

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A/N:

... I tried. Seriously. I had no idea where I meant to go with this story.

So, bear with me while I try to refind my ideas for it. This is sorta a transition chapter - from who I was in '09, to who I am in '11. The story will probably evolve differently. Sorry about that.

Anyway, let me know what you think. I really hope you still enjoy it. Review please!

A/N End


	7. Setting the Stage

**Chapter Six: Setting the Stage  
**

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The Iwanin ran hard and fast across the burning roof tops of Oto, the dancing firelight keeping his path well lit. His steps were light as the ashes falling upon the city rooftops. Intense urgency radiated off his person, somehow finding power despite the dangerous situation around him. In his gloved hand, a bloody blue cloth fluttered.

Perhaps if the tears of lost comrades hadn't been blurring his vision and the pain from both his physical and mental wounds weren't so prominent in blocking his senses, he would have been able to see the shadows flirting around him, in a clear attack pattern. But alas, he did not, all he could sense or feel was that he was alone, and had to survive. Had to. Or else Konoha would destroy everything else he loved.

The first blade shot out of the ground, the Iwanin barely side stepping enough for it to not go through his foot or cut his chest, as the enemy came flying up into the air before him. Konohanin! Right behind it, another knife stabbed from the side, which he barely maneuvered away from, and even more from the side and above. He dodged them all, as there was no longer any desire to fight the bastards. Survival was foremost, lest many others die too.

The three Konohanin - ANBU members, he noted - seemed just as determined on their own mission. We're Konoha shrinobi truly so bloodthirsty? He had never... The propaganda had never actually made him believe they were the evil representations they had portrayed - Wolf?

Barely registering it as the big fucking white wolf struck from the side, throwing him off the rooftops and into the streets. He rolled with the Wolf a ways, fighting for survival with each movement and every breath - the smoke was thick down here. Not only that, but the burning bodies that were scattered around made an ungodly stench. If he survived, he'd never eat meat again.

The Iwanin struggled hard to escape - he just had to survive! If he didn't, how else would they know, for sure, that Konoha had made the first move?

"Akamaru, stop!" A voice pierced through the smoke and crackles of flames; distinct in its Konoha dialect. "Here, now!"

The tamed wolf responded immediately, why were they pulling out - he heard it. Distinct snaps of wood finally growing weak from the destruction on their base and unable to support the upper portion of the building. Shit, shit. In his panicked state, he couldn't concentrate enough to perform any sort of jutsu, resulting in his mad scramble to escape the avalanche of fire and wood.

This was it, the damn dog had killed him. Iwa would be blind sided by Konoha, giving them the advantage. Curse it all! He went ahead to his knees and curled up, covering his head as if that would somehow save him from the impact.

It never came. The blow that he thought would hold certain death. After a moment of lasting life, he twisted back. The building had been stopped just above him, by a black sort of inky substance. Someone had saved him. Not about to second guess it at the moment, he started to crawl out, and leaped to one of the few buildings that hadn't caught fire yet. He could sense any sign of the three Konohanin that had attacked him earlier. Must've thought he was dead. His joy was overwhelming, he had just survived a situation he shouldn't have. Amazing.

"You'll need this." He jumped, turning back. A young, pale, black haired man stood there, face shielded by a mask, and most likely his savior. He held out the Konoha headband he had accidentally dropped at some point. "This ought to prove your point."

"Thank you. Thank you so very much!" Bowing as if he were little more than this guy's servant, the Iwanin took the headband. He didn't even realize that the man giving it to him was a Konoha ANBU. Didn't even get a hint that he was being used as little more than pawn. "You have saved many lives. Thank you!"

"They'll be back if you don't hurry. I'll look into holding them off." Nodding in acknowledgment to the thanks, he turned from the Iwanin, going to return to his own mission. The Iwanin wasted no time in bounding off through the streets, making a literal bee line for Iwagakure.

o0o

"Akamaru can't smell him for all the smoke - if he'd gotten out, we would at least smell something. He's got to be dead." Kiba was pissed. He couldn't confirm that they had killed the damn Iwanin, and that was a loose end. Who knew where that bastard would be going, or what towns he'd be burning down next. "Have you gotten in touch with... anyone? Or are the radios still down?"

"Still down." Hinata confirmed, coming to his side, her Byakugan activated. "I don't see him. He's either dead, or gone. Either way, he's not our main concern. Shino's been working with the radios, though he doesn't think it'll do much. The signal is either being blocked by something in the area... or there isn't a signal to be had." She deactivated her special eyes, giving Kiba an intense stare.

"Iwa may have attacked there, too." His words were barely a breaths worth of noise. "Damnit! What do we -"

Kiba never finished his sentence. A kunai to the head finished that job off rather well. Hinata's eyes were back on in a second, as she started out for the next attack. She took only a moment to identify the unique craftsmanship that Kuani sported. No doubt about it. "Shino! Kiba's dead, I think it's more Iwanin!"

She didn't waste any time moving of the line of fire by jumping into the alley behind their roof of choice, about five Kunai impacting just behind where she had been only seconds before. She had to get to Shino. Hopefully the smoke in her wake would be enough to obscure her from the attacker. They were right on the edge of Oto, wouldn't be hard to get

"Hinata, where are you?" The radio bud in her ear cackled, only able to receive signals between them. "I'm sending some friends to help you."

"Better hurry-" Hinata gasped as her feet refused to move. What the hell... yanking her legs up hard with no luck, she looked down and saw the living black ink holding her in place. Jutsu. She jerked her body again, recognizing the chakra filled ink. No, a Konoha shinobi was doing this? No... Kunai filled her own back, and the ink released, letting her body fall freely to the ground, just within the line of trees.

A swift shadow made a move by her body, dropping a hiate ate - a head band - sporting the Iwagakura village's symbol. The stage had been officially set. Now for the actors to do their part.

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A/N:

Yeah, I know. Don't get on me about it.

Sidenote, I need a beta.

A/N


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